UCLA's Chai hopes to master center

SUMMER DRILL: Center Robert Chai hikes the ball to quarterback Ben Olson during practice last Friday at UCLA. Chai says he feels comfortable knowing he can focus on one position. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LOS ANGELES - Mike McCloskey was not particularly imposing for an offensive lineman.

He was listed at 280 pounds - and might actually have been on a good day - but he was quick and mobile. And when he was on the field the past two seasons, UCLA's running game was one of the best in college football.

So now, with McCloskey out of school and on to life, the Bruins and starting center Robert Chai are left to find the answer as to why they were so much better when the Laguna Hills High graduate was playing center and to try to replicate that success running the ball.

Chai has theories: comfort or confidence level at the position, knowledge of the offense or having to move back and forth from guard.

But the easy answer is experience.

McCloskey started all 13 UCLA games as a redshirt freshman, 18 in a row before he suffered a broken left ankle in a victory over Washington in 2003, and 34 games during his career.

In the 16 regular-season games McCloskey started at center in 2004 and 2005, the Bruins rushed for 3,047 yards and 32 touchdowns. UCLA averaged 190.4 yards a game. In the six games he didn't start, UCLA averaged 110.7 rushing yards per game.

And experience can be invaluable at the line of scrimmage - identifying defensive fronts, checking to get the right blocker on the right defenders.

"The defenses move, they jump around," UCLA offensive line coach Jim Colletto said. "They have nickel players in there. They have dime players in there. The have four down linemen, three down linemen. So getting every (defensive player) identified and every man on the line communicating is probably the hardest job.

"It's really just a numbers game - whether it's seven guys, eight guys, six guys. But identification of what they're doing with any offensive line is important, and getting the right guys chosen to block."

With Colletto replacing former line coach Tom Cable, now with the Atlanta Falcons, the Bruins are using similar schemes in the run game. But this season will have different linemen matched up on different defenders on particular plays.

But Chai, from Newport Harbor High, has been gaining ground.

"He does a good job. He's a sharp guy. And he'll always do a good job," Colletto said. "The experience helps. Like quarterback, center is one of the hardest jobs in football to play."

The senior started the six regular-season games that McCloskey missed the past two seasons. But a year ago, he had been moved to the weakside guard and was playing there when McCloskey went down against Oregon State in the seventh week of the season because of a shoulder injury.

Aaron Meyer finished that game, but the next week against Stanford, Chai was back starting at center, where he had played as a redshirt freshman.

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